ECONOMY
Turkey to preserve its share in TANAP
Baku, April 18 (AZERTAC). Turkey seeks to preserve the second largest stake in the Trans-Anatolian Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP).
Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz on Wednesday noted the importance of Ankara`s stake in two Caspian gas pipelines, telling the media that it would ensure the country`s role as an energy corridor for Europe.
Yildiz said the implementation of the TANAP project was a priority for Turkey.
According to Yildiz, some European and Asian countries have expressed interest in participating in the project, but Turkey is not going to reduce its share in TANAP project.
TANAP is expected to transport gas from the Shah Deniz offshore gas field to markets in the west. The project was announced in 2011 at the Third Black Sea Energy and Economic Forum in Istanbul, and a memorandum of understanding establishing a consortium to build and operate the pipeline was signed between Turkey and Azerbaijan.
Presently, a 20 percent share in TANAP is held by Turkish BOTAS and TPAO, while 80 percent is owned by Azerbaijan`s state energy firm SOCAR. SOCAR intends to retain 51 percent of equity in the project. The remaining 29 percent of the state oil company`s share will be distributed among the foreign partners of the Shah Deniz project as follows: Statoil and BP will acquire 12 percent each and Total 5 percent.
Earlier Head of SOCAR Turkey Enerji, a board member of Petkim Petrochemical Holding Kenan Yavuz said the project`s cost will increase anywhere between $3-10 billion due to changes in the final route of the TANAP.
Yavuz emphasized that despite increase in the cost, implementing the project is crucial for Turkey and will lead to more affordable gas prices.
He said the TANAP project is a revolution in the energy history of Azerbaijan and Turkey.
The initial capacity of the pipeline is expected to reach 16 billion cubic meters a year. About six billion cubic meters will be delivered to Turkey, and the rest to Europe. The first construction work within the TANAP project is expected to begin in 2014 with commencing the first deliveries of Azerbaijani gas to Turkey in 2017.
